


And Maybe, The World Will Look Like This Forever

by justyoumeandthestars



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Driving, F/M, Implied/Referenced Cheating, M/M, NOT Clint/Phil cheating, Past Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov, Smoking, abuse of song lyrics, clint hates his job, natasha breaks character, technical grocery store workers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-11
Updated: 2013-11-11
Packaged: 2018-01-01 03:56:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1040055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justyoumeandthestars/pseuds/justyoumeandthestars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Skin new, hands true, my hands all over you.</p>
            </blockquote>





	And Maybe, The World Will Look Like This Forever

He was driving, driving west on a country road toward the middle of nowhere, coming from a city with a population of no more than 4,000. He was dressed for work - wrinkled khakis, a blue shirt that was a size too big and black Converse with a plaid tongue - though he wasn’t required to be there for another forty-five minutes. His cup holders were full of half-drank cans of Diet Coke, silver glinting off the sunlight coming in through the windshield. His heat was on full blast, though he only had a quarter tank left, and his window down the let out the smoke from his Marlboro Light. His mixed CD Phil had made for him last Christmas was scratched, but he tolerated the skipping. 

_You cannot forget - skin new, hands true, my hands all over you._

He pushed his hood out of his face and let out another stream of smoke. He has - had? - a girlfriend. Natasha. Pretty red curls that framed her face and eyes that had seen straight through his toss-up excuse that morning. “Get out,” she had spat at him before returning to her homework. And he had.

_So what’s another night - the seats rolled back, they can’t see through. The rain’s the rain, some air’d be good for you._

He slept with Phil last night - undoubtedly, the love of Clint’s pathetic fucking life - instead of Natasha, who had spent the night studying for her Psychology test Monday morning. He’d fucked his best friend, and Jesus, the guy had _let him_. 

He put on his left blinker, pulling into a mile-long driveway in order to turn around and head back down the road to his shitty minimum-wage job. He knew Phil would be there - Phil closed the store with him every Saturday night. Clint doesn’t know what he should say, doesn’t know how to even handle the hot-mess that is his life now. But Phil would know, he always knew what to say. Phil also knew about Natasha, which shows just how much he wanted this too. Clint wants to believe this was worth it, will all be okay. That living with the fact that he cheated on the only woman who ever loved him.

But Nat wasn’t _in love_ with him. 

Clint knew what it was like to be in love. He’d felt it last night as Phil hovered over him with that cheeky little grin and mussed hair. His eyes had sparkled in a way Natasha’s never had with him - never would with him, had only done with Bucky, fuck, Bucky; the man Clint could never replace no matter how hard he’d tried. Natasha’s first, true, only love. And Clint, yes, could admit he’d hadn’t tried very hard. Had only tried at one thing - to shove Natasha into a place only Phil could fit. 

And now, he sighed pulling into the parking lot with crooked yellow lines and a sign on the front of the store with burnt out lights, the deed was done. No more trying, no more forcing, and no more conforming Nat’s gorgeous soul into something she could never be.

Walking into the break room - a green plastic table with one short leg, blue chair stained with age and use - he sees that same smile from last night and feels the hole fill. He unlocks his phone screen and sees a message from Natasha.

_I think, maybe, you two were made for each other. I’ll always love you, Clint. Take care of yourself._

And the world settles like ashes after a fire.

**Author's Note:**

> Use of the lyrics from Jack's Mannequin's "MFEO: Part 2"  
> Also, the first bit was inspired because I was doing this yesterday because I accidentally showed up to work an hour early - not because I had hot sex with Phil Coulson instead of Natasha Romanov. Living vicariously through my fandoms soml.


End file.
